Jets fall 4-1 to visiting Wild

Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien keeps Nino Niederreiter of the Minnesota Wild out of the play during the first period of Thursday night's game at the MTS Centre. - (Phil Hossack / WInnipeg Free Press)Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien. - (Phil Hossack / WInnipeg Free Press)Dany Heatley (right) chases down Zach Redmond of the Winnipeg Jets as goaltender Al Montoya looks on during the first period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Byfuglien and Niederreiter continue to grapple with each other during the first period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Nate Prosser and James Wright collide along the boards in the first period. - (Phil Hossack / WInnipeg Free Press)Bryan Little scores on Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding as the Wild's Nate Prosser looks on during the first period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Winnipeg Jets' Bryan Little (left), Blake Wheeler (centre) and Toby Enstrom celebrate Little's goal. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Winnipeg Jets Tobias Enstrom (left) and Blake Wheeler (right) congratulate Bryan Little on his first-period goal. - (Phil Hossack / WInnipeg Free Press)Minnesota Wild's Erik Haula (56) and Nino Niederreiter (22) celebrate a goal by teammate Mathew Dumba (not shown) against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Al Montoya during the first period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Ivan Telegin of the Jets is rubbed along the boards by the Minnesota Wild's Steven Kampfer in the first period. - (Phil Hossack / WInnipeg Free Press)Zach Redmond dives for the puck after being tripped by Dany Heatley of the Minnesota Wild late in the first period. - (Phil Hossack / WInnipeg Free Press)Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding takes a breather during the second period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Minnesota Wild's Charlie Coyle (centre) and Dany Heatley (right) celebrate Coyle's goal on Winnipeg Jets goaltender Al Montoya during the second period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding stops James Wright of the Winnipeg Jets during the second period as Mathew Dumba of the Wild tries to move him. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele (left) and Minnesota Wild's Steven Kampfer (40) fight for the puck behind the Wild's net during the second period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Blake Wheeler is taken out by Erik Haula in the third period. - (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press)Evander Kane takes out Clayton Stoner of the Minnesota Wild in the third period. - (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press)An angry Andrew Ladd is held back by Jonathon Blum of the Minnesota Wild as James Wright of the Jets is roughed up by a pack in the third period. - (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press)Minnesota Wild's Nino Niederreiter (22) and goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) shut down Winnipeg Jets' Evander Kane (9) as he tries a wrap-around during the third period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel talks to his players during the third period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo talks to his team during the third period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Minnesota Wild's Kyle Medvec (67) elbows Mark Scheifele along the boards during the third period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)Winnipeg Jets' Evander Kane (9) takes out Minnesota Wild's Kyle Medvec (67) during the third period. - (John Woods / The Canadian Press)

Hey there, time traveller!This article was published 19/9/2013 (1428 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets hit the half-way point of their NHL pre-season schedule tonight when the Minnesota Wild come to town for a 7 p.m. start at the MTS Centre.

It’s Winnipeg’s fourth of eight exhibition games and its first against one of its new division rivals.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien keeps Nino Niederreiter of the Minnesota Wild out of the play during the first period of Thursday night's game at the MTS Centre.

The Jets and Wild will play in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday but tonight, it’s the Jets, 1-1-1 so far, who will ice the more experienced lineup.

The Wild are believed to be leaving front-line players Zach Parise and Ryan Suter at home today.

Winnipeg on the other hand is sending its top line of Bryan Little, Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler into the game, as well as defenceman Zach Bogosian, Toby Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien, who will be paired with rookie Josh Morrissey for this one.

Also in tonight is right-winger Devin Setoguchi, who will be facing his old team. He came over via trade in July.

Setoguchi said this morning he didn’t think tonight’s affair will match up to the regular-season meetings, and expected little chirping about it.

"Oh, none" he smiled. "I don’t think there will be any. It’s pre-season. We’ll save that talk for when the season starts and that’s when you can go out there and it means something."

And when it means something, Setoguchi said, it should be a whole lot more interesting.

"We play all these teams a lot of times, four or five times, so at the end of the day you’ve got to beat those games to get in the playoffs," he said.

Left-winger Eric Tangradi left this morning’s skate at the MTS Centre and didn’t return.

"He won’t be in the game," coach Claude Noel said later. "He’s day-to-day. We just have to keep him out of the game. It’s just a training-camp fatigue."

Noel wouldn’t disclose who Tangradi’s replacement for tonight would be.

"It’s a, ‘Where’s Waldo?’" the coach chuckled.

Noel, who will put rookie Mark Scheifele between wingers James Wright and Matt Halischuk tonight, said progress is essential, no matter the opponent or the night in the pre-season.

"What we’re looking for is to get better from one game to the next," Noel said. "What we’re trying to do is play the right way and I find some of the guys doing some of the things we’ve done in the past that we’ve tried to change last year.

"Pre-season, players are anxious to get on the board, anxious to do some things. I want us, for example, to have shorter shifts and better line changes.

"And I want us to play more of a team game, be more to the identity we’d like to be, be hard to play against."

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